The invention relates to the maintenance of woodwind instrument reeds, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for removing the worn part of a reed while maintaining the structural features of the reed to extend its life and achieve a brighter sound or more projected sound.
Most woodwind musicians claim that they find maybe two reeds out of a box that gives them the sound that they prefer based on the style of play they are used to. When those reeds start to wear, they're forced to go through another box to find that perfect reed again.
There are many variables in the way woodwind reeds are made, and there is an increasing demand for woodwind reeds worldwide. Since the reed tips are cut on a precise angle or arc, variances are mostly attributed to the quality of the cane itself.
The best cane is grown in the province of Var in southeastern France. The coastal region of Catalonia in eastern Spain is the world's second largest commercial producer of reed cane.
Reed cane is planted, grown, harvested, cured, selected for reed sizes and cut into reeds. About three years have elapsed by the time a woodwind player attaches a reed on a mouthpiece. And as standardized a system as it is, there are still variances in the quality of reeds. Even reeds manufactured under the best conditions of care and quality control cannot always be perfect.
Reed cane itself is a woody structure with longitudinal fibers, called vascular bundles, running its entire length. The vascular bundles are what gives a reed its strength and resiliency. With proper backlighting, they can be observed in the cut of the reed vamp (the top section of the reed from the score to the tip).
Reed material is made of mostly cellulose, which is what comprises the main part of the cell walls of plants. Saliva breaks down this cellulose, which is a complex carbohydrate or starch, into glucose, which is sugar. During play, saliva enters these tube-like reed fibers. Initially, this interaction is beneficial. The saliva causes the fibers to become more flexible and less porous.
Reeds must be able to handle a great deal of stress to allow a musician to play with the sound and control that a professional must possess. One part of a reed is a vamp which has a tapered thickness where the tip of the reed that interacts with a player's tongue is the thinnest part. The tip has a unique curvilinear shape specific to each woodwind instrument. When a new reed is played, it is stressed in a number of ways and it immediately starts to deteriorate. Saliva is a primary cause of reed deterioration as the digestive nature of it acts to chemically break down the reed tissue. Reeds also deteriorate due to the mechanical stresses of the vibration during play, the interaction of the reed and the tongue and the constant and continuous tightening and loosening of the embouchure.
Technically, in simple terms, what happens is this: The reed vibrates as the musician blows around it and into the instrument. During this process, the reed opens and closes against the mouthpiece acting as somewhat of an air valve. This process of vibration and other mechanical stresses together with the chemical breakdown, all contribute to how long or how little a reed will last.
The only publicly known option to help extend the life of a reed has been the use of a reed cutter. Reed cutters, however, tend to cut unevenly and can cause splitting both of which ruin the reed. Many reed cutters are also difficult to use and expensive to purchase. Furthermore, some require new blades on a regular basis, which are difficult to change and dangerous for the user to handle. Aside from those problems, the major flaw of the reed cutters is the detrimental effect to the cane itself. Cutting the tip of the reed exposes the fibrous tubes in the cane, allowing the glucose a means of escape.
For years, professional jazz musicians have been burning the tips of their reeds to extend the playing life instead of cutting them. Professionals prefer burning over cutting because they have discovered that the reed performs better after it is burned. They just did not know, until now, the scientific aspects involved in the results of the chemical reactions and the mechanical stresses placed on their reeds. All they knew was that burning gave them the results they wanted. They achieved a brighter sound or a more projected sound no matter what style they played and their favorite reeds lasted much longer than their usual life span. By burning the tip, the reed fibers are cauterized with the aid of the glucose. Since the fibers are then sealed, they retain the beneficial qualities of the chemical reaction to the saliva for a longer period of play. This process extends the life of the reed and even gives it a new vitality.
Without a product to assist them, the expedient process that Jazz musicians and other musicians have been practicing for years has worked, but has serious flaws. This process involved burning the tip between two coins. Most critically, with the coin method, there was no way to match the arc of the reed tip, causing a change in the angle of the tip. If not burned precisely, the arc of the tip is altered which changes the dynamics of the reed's playability. Specifically, reeds and mouthpieces are designed to work together and altering the arc of the tip causes a loss of air and a difference in the sound quality from the instrument. Keep in mind that for most professionals, this still made that reed a favorite over the discarded ones in the box. In addition, with no way to pinch the tip between the coins, back burn often occurred to a small portion of the remainder of the reed. The coins also heated up in the process causing slight discomfort to the fingers. However, even with the lack of precision associated with this method, professionals still prefer it to cutting.
Towards this end, woodwind instrument players would benefit from an apparatus and method wherein the tip of a reed is burned whereby the existing arc of the reed tip is maintained, as opposed to cutting the reed to extend the life of the reed.